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Kogan Backlit Mechanical Keyboard (Cherry MX Brown) $65 + FREE SHIPPING

520

Probably the cheapest backlit mechanical keyboard around. I don't know much about the built quality but will soon find out.

After some research, I found that the keyboard is similar (if not, exact built as the ARMAGGEDDON Stealth Raptor MKA-7 Mechanical Keyboard)

Review here

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  • +32

    Can't wait for Kogan to ruin the reputation of mechanical keyboards for everyone.

  • +5

    Definitely the cheapest I've seen for a vanilla Cherry Brown keyboard. Now we just need a victim to test it out

  • +3

    I have one of these. It does feel solidly built and very heavy compared to non mech keyboards. Typing is good and straightforward but it does take some getting used to

  • +7

    I've had one of these for over a year now, its a solid mechanical keyboard, and for $65 its really cheap. I had a defective key switch (Kogan don't make the switches, so I can't blame them for build quality there), Kogan replaced the keyboard in less than a week.

    There are some quirks; the macro key combos aren't convenient, the volume/lights spinner is bad and defaults back to lights after a reset, and there is some noise on the headphone jack.

  • Price changed right as i was about to buy one.

  • Clicked on the link just now, it's back to $99 for me
    https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/backlit-mechanical-gaming-keybo…

  • Why it is $99 for me?

  • -1

    It's not $65 anymore, it is now $99, just about to buy one and a TV for the camper but price has gone up whilst in my cart. Interstingly it stated price was $65, originally $99, now it says $99, originally $129 …. Dodgy Kogan…. but I guess I already knew that after taking a punt on the Kogan GoPro knock off befoer any reviews…

    • It is indeed back to $65 again.

  • $65 for me. Just ordered one.

    Weary of a Kogan keyboard but work's paying for it.

  • Back to $65 now.
    Ordered one first mechanical keyboard see how it goes.

    also first time buying from kogan :)

  • Sounds like a good price, but I'm still waiting for a cheap cherry red kb.

  • edit: disregard

  • +4

    Great price, well worth it - I would pay up to $40 to not have to look down at a kogan logo, every day, though

    • I'd buy it in a heartbeat if it didn't have the logo haha

      • Agreed there logo on the back is plenty no need to plaster it on the front lol.
        but still $65 is very cheap for a mechanical KB

        • I ended up buying one and a QI charger for my nexus 5, not bad for $85 delivered. I'll find a way to remove the logo haha

        • +2

          @Malarkey:
          Black nail polish will fix it. Cheap and covers a multitude of stuffups.

  • +9

    Black tape over the kogan logo, or try scratch it off. problem solved

    • Maybe small sticker.

      • Or possibly even just take the keyboard apart and do a respray of the case. A lot of people that mod their existing mechanical keyboards do this as it's pretty straightforward, easy to do and cheap.

        • Plasti-Dip for those that like customising.

    • +1

      Apple sticker over the logo

      • +3

        Calm down satan

  • +1

    Thanks! I wasn't gonna buy it, but then my $10 x'mas voucher arrived just then, and so I bought it for $55 :D

  • +1

    I have one of these, payed more than that. It's a great keyboard. I much prefer it to my other my blue board. probably depends on preferences and what u wanna to use it for. great for gaming

      • +1

        Rubbish. Mechanical feel does benefit gamers

      • -6

        There's no scientific study showing whether they have an advantage or not. However, it's a personal preference thing, some people, like myself, prefer the feel of mechanical keyboards and find them less fatiguing to use. It's not a big deal.

        • I don't want to be a pain, but how do you even know there are no scientific studies on this?

        • -5

          @cloudy: I tried Google Scholar and had a look around. It doesn't exist. And as per anything in science, if there is no proof of existence, it is assumed to not exist.

        • +2

          @paulsterio:

          I like that if it's not found on google, it doesn't exist argument. I'm sure once upon a time the moon and all the other planets doesn't exist too. But hey, it's amazing how time changes the existence of things.

        • -1

          @cloudy: Of course, it's called making new discoveries mate.

        • @paulsterio:

          So nothing exist until scientific evidence says it does, and then we call it a new discovery… Right lol.

          I always think ur the smartest dumb person on ozbargain. You are knowledgeable and smart, but also post oh so head scratching things.

        • +2

          @paulsterio:

          Actually, you're extremely wide of the mark there.

          If there are no studies challenging a paradigm, no possible conclusion can be drawn.

          You have searched for proof. You have found no studies, either way. Science has zero assumptions to give you.

          If you're smart enough to go to google scholar and look for studies, you're smart enough not to misrepresent what science is to people who may actually believe you.

        • @paulsterio: lol, neg'd out of exsistance

        • +1

          @paulsterio:

          From google scholar:
          http://pro.sagepub.com/content/28/3/267.short

          Brunner, H., & Richardson, R. M. (1984, October). Effects of keyboard design and typing skill on user keyboard preferences and throughput performance. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 267-271). SAGE Publications.

          Though this doesn't have enough information to derive any conclusions on keyboard and the game performance, I think it shows potential possibilities of them having some sort of relationship.

      • You obviously have absolutely no clue what your talking about.

  • Woohoo, good deal.
    Been looking to make the jump for a while, Cherry brown was what i was after too.
    Should have got another to use at the office…

    • coworkers would probably slap you

      • +1

        Looks like they will have to.
        Asked the boss and he ordered one for me and himself :)

  • I dont understand. I was about to order it but all the comments are making them sound terrible and poor quality. Is it worth it or not?

    • What got me decided is the fact that whatever the rest of the keyboard is like it has cherry mx switches which are not cheap replicas of something good there the real thing.

    • +2

      You mean people assuming the worst because of Kogan and not having used one?
      Turns out they are rebadged ARMAGGEDDON Stealth Raptor MKA-7 keyboards.

      • thats funny, i was looking at those keyboards the other day and was contemplating buying one but at that price i couldn't. Thats awesome looks like i got myself a late christmas present depending on the shipping.

  • Used one of these, quality was not so great. Would not buy again.

  • Great price for a keyboard with Cherry Brown switches, even if the multicoloured LEDs make it look a tad cheap.

    • +2

      I was going to buy that but with $18 postage it was $22 more so decided to go for this.

    • Think I can help here.

      I have a Tesoro (the moba edition of the one you're looking at) that I received the other day. If you did go with the moba, be warned - the keys are very glossy and I'm not entirely sure if that is a good thing. The one you posted doesn't look as if it has that.

      I don't have a lot to say about it other than it's a decent keyboard. I prefer my ducky shine 3 but I honestly couldn't tell you why - perhaps that it doesn't quite have that "gamer" looks taint that the Tesoros do.

  • Alot of the people seem to advocate more for the Blue vs the Browns. Can anyone shed further light?

    • if you've tried the two switches, you'll notice blue feel and sound more clicky, whereas the browns are a tad quieter but still have a great type feel. They're definitely less spongy than rubber domes. Great to type with.

    • From what i gather the browns are almost the same as the blues but less actuation force and less noise (not clicky)

    • +2

      They have that satisfying tactile feedback (they have a bump) when pressing them. So it feels awesome when typing. Browns are nearly like Blues without the 'click' noise that makes them so loud and wonderful.

      Reds and blacks don't have this feel, as they go straight down to the base with no bump (linear). Blacks are heavier to press than reds.

      It's basically personal preference, and what you plan to do with the keyboard - being typing/gaming etc.

      IMO, browns are a good balance between feel and sound. Reds are good as well, but blacks are just to heavy for me.

    • +6
      • Blues: Loud and stiff with a tactile bump (the half-way point where the keystroke actually registers, which is indicated to the user via the bump). And I do mean loud. The second highest actuation force of the common Cherry switches (Blacks are higher, but with no tactile bump, little noise and faster rebounding keys).

      • Reds: Fast and light. Lower actuation force than either Blues or Browns, with no tactile bump; the same amount of resistance in the switch throughout the entire key travel distance.

      • Browns: The compromise switch. Not as heavy or loud as Blue, not as light as a Red, the actuation force is slightly below the Blue, though still a lot higher than a Red; the tactile bump is softer and not as pronounced as in the Blue.

      In my opinion Reds have an actuation pressure similar to a dandelion spore, and for those of us with large hands it feels like the keyboard is playing a joke on you (constant mistyping from casually resting fingers on keys), whereas Blues feel like I'm doing finger workouts and sound like a woodpecker having a seizure.

      Browns with O-Rings (to dampen the noisiness) I find to be the best combination of all switch traits.

      It's also much easier to migrate to Browns if you've come from a lifetime of using rubber domes as opposed to going straight to Reds or Blues.

      • In my opinion Reds have an actuation pressure similar to a dandelion spore, and for those of us with large hands it feels like the keyboard is playing a joke on you (constant mistyping from casually resting fingers on keys)

        Lol this has happened to me a couple of times, having said that i find cherry reds to be the best out of red and blues as they are quiet and quite a lot easier to type with. I haven't tried cherry brown personally, but i heard they were pretty much as loud as blues, well… maybe slightly quieter but red sound like a number membrane KB.

        Blues feel like I'm doing finger workouts and sound like a woodpecker having a seizure.

        LOL!

        • I have a red keyboard at work now.

          Sometimes I'll be sitting there, resting on the keys and I'll find out I'm actually now pressing one. It's quite surprising.

          I prefer my blues.

  • Very cheap for a backlit mechanical keyboard. Although the logo and the keys above the num pad are quite a turn off for me.

  • +2

    Ordered. My first time dealing with Kogan. Wish me luck

    (i've heard many a horror story)

  • +2

    I've had this keyboard for a year now and at this price it's practically a steal! The keyboard works really well and I use the audio ports included on it. Although I hardly use the software that was included on it and the macro keys are basically bunched with the 6 navigation keys (insert, delete, home, etc). At this price I would definitely grab this keyboard! (I paid $99 for mine last year)

  • +2

    Didn't really need one, but bought it just to try what mechanical keyboard feels like :)

  • pity the macrokeys are on the right :(

  • Bought one

  • been sitting on the fence for the past few hours, can someone try push me either side? :P

    • +2

      $65 is dirt cheap :P

      • attempting to get the 10$ kogan voucher, see how i go! :)

  • +4

    I have one of these which sadly failed due to an unknown reason though 3 friends have them and have had an excellent run from them despite abuse. Internally it's extremely well built with a hefty circuit board. I did have the company details who made the OEM unit but I have lost these.
    The points to note: key colours aren't customisable, the volume control and associated buttons is handy but feels cheaper than the rest, the headphone jack and USB are best considered inoperable.
    I have an original Model M so it was an easy transition for myself but others may fund them very unusual to get used to but give it time and the keyboard will feel odd for a few weeks then will bed in nicely.
    Well made and a great deal at the price. I'm going to spring for another one and change out the orange WASD keys for blue LED's from the failed one I have. While I'm at it I'll try some solvents on the logo, it's essentially junked anyway so will update on what/if works

  • Does anyone know who Kogan uses for freight? Wondering if I can get it delivered to an Australia post parcel locker?

    • I've had goods delivered from Kogan to a PO Box previously, so parcel lockers should be fine.

  • I'd probably get this, if I didn't have a Coolermaster Novatouch TKL with Topre switches.

  • $99 now. I'll wait and see if they bring it down again.

  • Anyone got any leads on a Ducky Shine 3 TKL with MX blues?

  • Wow just got email saying it's left the warehouse also got tracking number.

    • got my keyboard today so far so good no problems with it at all.
      The lights are a hell of alot brighter then my previous Logitech G105
      its definitely the same as the ARMAGGEDDON Stealth Raptor the manual even says stealth raptor lol

  • Arrived, pretty cool keyboard. Wish it had a palm rest though but for $69, not complaining!

  • Anyone successful in removing the kogan logo? It looks like silver paint rather than a sticker of sorts? Or is tape the best option?

    • I cleaned a keyboard with eucalyptus oil once. It took the writing off the frequently-used keys that were already worn - like the S & E keys. So… If you rub through the logo and/or keep rubbing with eucalyptus oil and a cotton rag it would probably come off.

    • I used nail polish remover. Worked fine.

      The black stuff comes off as well so you have to be fairly even when rubbing.

  • Did the postage tracking number given in the emails work for you guys?

    • +1

      It didn't work on Kogan site but when I went to Auspost website separately and put the number in it worked.

      Arrived this morning, super fast considering the xmas period. Surprised by how heavy it feels but it does feel solid and nice to type on.

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